


The Ritual

by aryas_zehral



Category: Firefly
Genre: F/F, Spanking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-15
Updated: 2010-01-15
Packaged: 2017-10-06 07:39:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aryas_zehral/pseuds/aryas_zehral
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-The Big Damn Movie, Inara helps Zoe with her grief.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Ritual

The ritual always started the same: late at night Inara would hear a knock on her door. Opening it she would find Zoe, stoic facade cracking, eyes desperate, needy, haunted, and not meeting Inara's, standing frozen at the door. Inara would step to one side to let Zoe in before closing and sealing the door. Without looking at her guest she would cross to her dresser, light several candles and an incense stick- a spicy scent with an underlying note of calming vanilla- and remove any restrictive layers of clothing. Only with these tasks completed would she turn to look at her guest.

Zoe would be undressing, each item of clothing being removed calmly, although some nights Inara could trace a faint tremble in those usually steady hands, always in a set order- gun belt, belt, boots, waistcoat, shirt, trousers, bra, panties, and socks. As each item was removed Zoe placed them meticulously on the chair by the bed, folding the clothes, creating clean lines. Inara would watch this disrobing but would not approach at this stage. Instead she let her eyes map the gentle curves and muscular swells of the body being unveiled, admiring the skin that glowed in the candlelight.

When Zoe was naked only then would Inara approach her calmly, coming to stand in front of her, looking up at her face. Zoe would always try to evade meeting her eyes, focussing instead on something behind Inara. The candle perhaps? Inara, however, would not allow this evasion. She would reach up, cup Zoe's cheek and turn it so that Zoe had no choice but to look her in the eye. Inara and Zoe would look at each other for a long moment. Inara's face would be impassive, almost strict; Zoe's uncomfortable but the neediness and desperation remained. They would continue looking at each other until Inara saw some kind of acknowledgement and acceptance on Zoe's face of why she had come to Inara's shuttle. Inara's right hand would not be still during this period. While its counterpart held her face, it would travel across the swells and curves earlier mapped out by her eyes, ghosting over breasts, belly and hips, trailing up her side, in movements designed to be soothing more than they were titillating.

Zoe's agreement given, Inara turned away from her and, with upmost care of her skirts, arranging them neatly and then smoothing the fabric, sat on the edge of the couch. Zoe quietly followed, positioning herself gracefully over Inara's lap, her behind raised, her legs slightly parted. With her arms and toes supporting her and her head hanging low, the position was hardly comfortable but comfort was hardly the point.

At first Inara would merely tap the firm globes of Zoe's behind, alternating with smooth, calming, infuriating strokes that would encompass the arch of Zoe's lower back and the tops of her thighs but never dip between. Over time Inara would increase the harshness of her taps until they stung both her hand and Zoe's bottom. Zoe's breathing would start to hitch, turn into gasps and, finally, the silence would be broken by her groans. During this time the flesh between Zoe's parted thighs would begin to glisten, the moisture seeping onto Inara's skirts, and the clean musky scent of Zoe's sex permeated the air of Inara's shuttle. Despite the incense and the recycled air, Inara would continue to catch hints of that scent for several days after although no one else on the crew had seemed to notice a thing.

Eventually, the air around them filled with the scent and sounds of sex, when Zoe was twitching in her effort to remain still even as her body ached for more, for movement, desperate, Inara would start to alternate slaps with softer smacks between Zoe's thighs. Inara's hand would linger, momentarily, after some of the taps, stroking the soft flesh, trailing long fingers along her sensitive lips, grazing the stiff bud of Zoe's clit. At these times Zoe would keen as the softness delayed her climax. Finally when Inara's instincts told her it was time she would slap Zoe's vulva- hard- so that Zoe cried out, her whole body jerking, as she came.

The final part of the ritual was a different kind of release for Zoe. As Inara stroked away the pain of the flesh, Zoe would allow herself to give in to the pain in her heart, the release of her climax descending into noiseless sobs. This part of the ritual varied in duration and in resolution. Most nights Zoe would cry for only a minute or two before pulling away from Inara, not meeting her eyes, dress and then leave. Occasionally, however, the grief would be too powerful, too raw, and it would be Inara that would pull Zoe from her position on her lap and gently coax her into Inara's bed. Inara would join her, pulling Zoe into her arms, Zoe's head pillowed on her breast, where she would lie stiffly at first before giving in to the comfort being offered and the tears overwhelming her. Then she would relax her position, one hand bunched in the fabric of Inara's clothing, and just cry. Inara would stroke her back, making meaningless noises, and just hold her. Eventually Zoe would still, the sobs would trail off, and she would fall asleep. Inara would quickly follow her and they would sleep like that, cocooned in each other's arms. When Inara would wake the next morning, however, she would always be alone. With a sigh she would rise, disrobe and start her preparations for another day on ship.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally [posted](http://cleo.dreamwidth.org/510327.html?thread=1597303#ljcmt1597303) in response to a prompt left for the [First Annual Femslash Kink Meme](http://cleo.dreamwidth.org/510327.html) on [Dreamwidth](http://www.dreamwidth.org/). A redrafted version (this version) was then posted on my fic journal [sayra_says](http://sayra-says.dreamwidth.org/) on DW/LJ.


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